05/0504 to 12/5/04 The Germans and beyond

Rushy

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5th May Kanab to Bryce Canyon 110 miles

Well I did get to "fly the canyon" today with the 2 Germans I met Peter and Dieter, they even let me have the front seat. The pilot wasnt impressed when I tried to pinch his, well I did used to do a bit of flying!

You really do only get a true idea of the size of the Grand Canyon from the air. I believe its nearly 270 miles wide. We certainly spend a good 1hr 45 over it and only saw a small part of it. Havasu Falls and Village, 440 native americans still live there and its an 8.5 mile hike in and out of the village to the nearest road.

We left Kanab and made our way to Bryce Canyon NP with a nice coffee stop along the way. It was good to take a slighter slowewr pace with the 2 Harleys and take in the scenery even more than usual. The temps dropped slightly as we were gaining altitude. Bryce is at the top of "The Grand Staircase" so the bottom layer of earth (geologically) at Bryce is the top layer at Zion and the bottom layer at Zion is the top layer at the Grand Canyon , all due to the earth being "pushed up" millions of years ago. we were riding at 7000+ feet.

At Bryce we walked around Sunrise Point ( 8500ft elev )and then said our farewells, they hoped to ride around a bit more of the park before heading towards Vegas. I intended to get my hiking boots on. I walked the Queens Garden Trail and got right down in amongst the amazing rock formations, tall sandstome towers rising up like church spires. They are really etheral and its like being in a church that god himself had made. Amazing feeling and quite quiet with not many visitors. Bryce is definately the one National Park you should visit if you are ever in Vegas and have a day to spare.

That night I camped a few miles down the road at a KOA campground. They are very well equipeed and although the surroundings aren't as nice as staying in the Nat'l Parks the facilities are much better - hot water, showers, laundry room, pool etc.

6th May Cannonville KOA to Richfield 201 miles

This was a slightly disappointing day. Why? Because I had to do a 65 mile trip in the wrong direction to sort my cameras ou and eneded up staying in a town I didnt want to visit , Richfield, and then 65 miles back the next day . A 130 milke detour just because the 4 or 5 towns i passed thru had nothing more than a gas station and general store.

However the road , Scenic Highway 12, from Escalante to Torrey was the best road I have ridden so far! You have to ride or drive it. There are some great rollercoaster bends and curvs, slow turns , fast turns, uphills sections climbing to 9,500ft and downhills sections. The scenery also changes dramatically every 30 or 40 miles. the ride was only spoilt slightly by strong cross winds, particularly riding the " Hogsback" (big drops on either side
) on the way into Boulder.
I visit Kodachrome Basin State Park , OK but not worth hanging around.

Another quite good bit was the trip from Torrey to Richfield ( 65 miles) which was fast and furious thru' a high altitude plateau which supported cattle and crops and a lake, and was consequently a lot greener and more lush than the past weeks travelling. Watch out for the migrating deer!! A real concern as one jumps out a few 100yrds ahead and nearly get hit by an artic'.

7th May Richfield to Moab 289 miles

A great day. I get back to Torrey , turn the corner and BANG the scenery changes IMMEDIATELY as you start to enter Capitol Reef National Park. Red sandstone cliffs and monuments with a strange green horizintal stip thru the rock strata.

COINCIDENCES abound as I meet a young South African couple in down a dirt rail in a remote canyon. They stop to see if i'm alright, i'm just taking pictures. Turns out they left London same time as me, have quit their jobs, sold their house too and are also doing the same trip as myself but in reverse. They tell me about the great places I should visit and I am able to do the same for them. His name turns out to be IAN ( his wife, Mel) and then it emerges that the will be selling their van in Seattle ( i will sell my bike there) AND they will arrive there within 48hrs of me! We swap details and agree to meet up for dinner in Seattle.

Another great ride along Scenic Highway 24 and yet again the scenery changes dramatically including one section which is gray and barren sand / rock formations and it feels and looks just like you are on the moon. I even stop at a cafe for lunch called the Luna Mesa.

The last 44 miles before I hit I70 are thru the San Rafeal Desert and you see NOTHING (except for the occasional opposing traffic) for those long 44 miles. I hit I 70 and blast down it to get to Moab, the thrill seekers capital of the South West. I check into a motel as the 2 campgrounds i visit are both full! Its weekend and the citizens of Utah and Colorado have come out to play!

8th of May Moab

Every other car in the town is either a tricked up 4 x 4 ( mainly Jeep Wranglers and the odd Hummer), is towing a 4 x 4 / quad / motorcross bike, or has racks on the roof or on the tailgate containing thousands of dollars worth of moutain bikes.
This is where everyone comes to " play in the dirt" or raft the Colorado River or Skydive. I decide that 2 out of 3 aint bad.

At Moab Adventure centre I meet a young lady called Linda ( a photo journalist, Irag , Afghanistan, Cambodia shes been there)
who wants to head out into the Canyonlands Natl Park in a Jeep but is put off by the cost of doing it alone. We agree to share one and hire it for 4hrs. SEVEN hrs later we bring it back at 8pm just as they were about to send out a search party. We had a great time driving along sheer precipices, walking along cliffs with a 100ft drop down to the Colorado , taking silly pictures of us "falling off" the edge. We saw the spot they now call " Thelma and Louise Point" - you can guess why. And walked across Musselman Arch, a natural stone arch/ bridge that is just a couple of feet wide in the middle and has 500 to 700ft of air below it. We saw some great wilderness and amazing views. This state , Utah, has areas which are just so remote and almost prehistoric.

At night we have dinner and a few drinks and agree to meet at 8am to go on a white water rafting trip on the Colorado - even though I hate being immersed in water and cannot swim.

9th of May Moab

The rafting trip was great , it was tamer than I thought it would be ( mind you we got soaked and it drowned my new Cybershot) even though we had to do a slightly rougfher lower part of the river. Why? Because the road to then upper part of the river was blocked by police. We could see a body bag on the side of the road and were told that it was a crime scene and we had to turn back. It transpired that a guy had been stabbed and his car stolen during the night.

Later that day we meet up again and hike up to "The Delicate Arch" in Arches Natl Park to see the sunset. When we arrive its a mecca for photographers trying to get that perfect shot. There were 50+ people there and it felt as though we were some wierd cult worshipping the arch. There must have been 30 grands worth of Nikon and Canon eqpt there that evening.

10th of May Moab to Cortez 162 miles

Would have beena bit of a dull day if I had not had to find a m/cycle shop to sell me some gloves ( I lost mine in the Arches NP).

I found Arrowhead M/cycles on the outskirts of Moab and there I met Fred the owner who correctly guessed which part of England I was from. He did a big tour of the UK 20+ yrs ago and got out his photo' album to share with me. He also let me use his computer to email piccies to the family.

The trip to Cortez was eventful only because it was so damn windy and I had to travel down Highway 666. In Cortez I met up with Linda again at another KOA campground . We planned to spend the next day in Mesa Verde Natl Park.

11th of May Mesa Verde to Chinle ( Canyon de Chelly NP) 208 miles

This day started of OK and turned out a bit harrowing.
We spent the day touring the Anasazi Cliff Dwelling ruins in Mesa Verde ( The famous Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Spruce Tree House). Early native americans occupied these dwelling around 1200ad for about 200 years and then "disappeared", migrated elsewhere for some still unknown reason.

We left around 5pm had a meal and fuelled up in Cortez and then raced to the Four Corners Natl Monument for sunset. This is the only place in the USA where four states meet ( Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona). It was only 50 miles away , we just made it in time but the access road was closed, two natives outside agreed to let us climb the gate and walk the 3/4 mile down the road "if we bought someting" from them. Remember, you are officially on the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Its dark when we leave and I am concerned about riding at night. The two natives say I shouldnt and I have been warned against it several times before and have therefore avoided it. Why? Wildlife that walks out in front of you and then you die.

Linda and I are both heading to Canyon de Chelly National Park but its 100 miles away and I only intend to drive as far as the next town and check into a motel. She agrees to lead the way in her car until then.

1, 2 3 towns later and no motels!! We have one potentialy nasty moment when a wild horse appears right in front of her car we both swerve but its OK. The horse stayed just on the edge of the road and crossed after we passed. A hole family do the same again later but in a rare lit bitof highway outside a town.

I had to follow Linda the whole way to Chinle town in the Park itself. We checked into the Thunderbird Lodge around 11 pm.

12th of May Chinle to Moab 320 miles

Linda and I spent the day wandering down into the Canyon. Its very pretty compared to most of the others. A small river runs thru it. Its got some farmland inside it and is quite green. You can just imaging the natives living down there. There are quicksands to catch out the unwary and you cant travel in most of it without a guide. Linda books a horse ride with a guide in the afternoon and we part company (shes been a great travelling companion) as I intend to ride to Monument Valley.

I leave Chinle late at 3.35pm and blast the 140 miles back up to Kayenta. Not much to see along the way but its interesting to see the land I travelled thru the night before in the dark. From 10 miles away I can see a duststorm in Kayenta ( the gateway to Monument Valley which is a further 25 miles away.

The best part of the day is about to begin. I visit Monument Valley , take some pictures and leave quickly as there is not much to see ( nearly get the bike stuck in deep sand as I try to take a picture at the Park entrance) and its now 6.45pm. As I turn out on to the main road I see 2 GSers. I stop and introduce myself to Ed and Tim from California riding GS Adventures. They intend to cut across country to Scenic HWY12 but their plans are dashed when I tell them they wont find anywhere to stay for 70+ miles once they hit it.
Ed recalculates his GPS and says they can hit Moab by 9pm. This is much further than i had hoped to get to on my own and asked to "tag along". 10 mins later we are blasting along at 80 to 90mph along an empty hioghway travelling thru yet more beautiful scenery although i'm not getting to see much of it. These guys can ride and when we stop for fuel and a drink after 40 miles I ask if we can peg it down by 5 mph or so.

Temps drop as it goes dark and yet again without realising it we ridden to 7200ft+ above sea level. DO NOT scoff at these guys on advrider.com with big sod off lights on their bikes. As it goes dark they really come into their own as we carve thru the desert landscape at a fair old lick. Ed and Tim light up the way and from a distance you might have mistaken us for an "alien" convoy travelling at extremely low altitude. They can leave their lights on most of the time as there is so liitle traffic.

We hit Moab at 9.30pm, check into a motel and get a late dinner and a few beers. They are a great couple of guys and Ed tells a couple of cop stories ( hes SWAT).

I am chuffed as I am much closer to Denver than I thought I would be. Seen alot and covered 320 miles despite not leaving until late thanks to Ed and Tim.
 
Dear Ian,
Glad you got to the Canyon de Chelly. Great isn't it? Also note that you flew over the Havasu falls and the Hopi Indian reservation. You might remeber that when i flew the canyon I did so in a chopper which took dropped me ijn the settlement, and I went horseriding down the river to the falls and went swimming at the base. Fantastic!
Your trip sounds amazing Wish I ws with you

Dave
 
Close encounters with a real live Brit!

Greetings and salutations,

This being my first post on your fine site I should introduce myself. I’m Ed. Now you may ask, “The very same ‘Ed’ Rushy met in the middle of the desert?”. The very same.

Now Ian steered me toward this site but then immediately regretted it when I pointed out that all it would take would be a little PhotoShop work and the pictures I took of him could turn him into a monstrous caravan driving tourist. But more out of laziness then anything else I’ll leave the encounter as it was.

I noted that Rushy’s reports are somewhat lacking in visual detail so I’ll take the liberty of throwing in a photo or two I took.

Link here : http://homepage.mac.com/gyro12/PhotoAlbum6.html

Cheers,

Gyro
 
Got back safe then!

Hi Ed

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Glad to see you got back safe, god knows how having seen the pace that you both rip through the countryside!

Hope you liked Scenic Hwy 12 from Torrey down to Capitol Reef.

Pleasure to meet you both.

Ian
 
Good to hear from you

Ian,

Good to hear from you. Sorry you were sick and had bike problems though. Tim’s Hal sensor died on the way home. We made it back with out any problem (and it hardly put a dent in our pace ;) ).

We took in most of Hwy 12 on the way back. We actually accessed it via the Burr Trail rather than Torrey. The Burr Trail turned out to be very scenic, a nice combination of dirt and tar. Best of all where it intersected Hwy 12 we finally found a good coffee shop.

Both Tim and I really enjoyed ridding and hanging out with you. It’s those kinds of contacts that really make a trip.

Since getting back I’ve been afflicted with a terrible wanderlust. We’re already planing our future trips (Arctic Circle to see the aurora and Baja to lay in the sun).

I’ve posted a few more pics of our trip, click here when you get a chance:

http://homepage.mac.com/gyro12/PhotoAlbum8.html

I know you aren't planing it but if you are in the San Francisco Bay area please don't hesitate to ring. It would be good to see you.

Cheers,

Ed
 


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